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The Batman Said To Be “Standalone Franchise” Sans Ben Affleck

The messy and convoluted Batfleck saga has taken an unexpected twist today, and it may well sign the final nail in the coffin.

As part of Deadline’s report (h/t Heroic Hollywood) on Geoff Johns and his next career move, the outlet claims writer-director Matt Reeves intends to reboot The Batman in what will be the beginning of a “standalone franchise.” And he’ll do so without Ben Affleck in the cape and cowl.

This status report comes just seven days after it was claimed that Affleck was happy with his ongoing involvement in the DC Extended Universe, and hoped to remain as Gotham’s Caped Crusader for the foreseeable future. Alas, that Bat-shaped flicker of hope looks to have been quashed – pretty definitively, we might add – as Reeves and his team cast the net in search of their new Batman.

Per Deadline:

There is an opportunity for Toby Emmerich to really reshuffle the executive deck on the feature side and turn DC into something more formidable than it is right now even as a James Wan-directed Aquaman is coming and Wonder Woman 2 is in production, with Matt Reeves rebooting Batman for a new standalone franchise, likely with a new actor to play the Caped Crusader after Ben Affleck’s stints in Batman V Superman and Justice League.

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It looks like it’s three and done for Ben Affleck’s Batman, then – remember, he also held a brief cameo role in Suicide Squad – as Matt Reeves shifts gears in preparation of his “standalone franchise.” Now for the million-dollar question: who will come in to replace Affleck as the Dark Knight?

Well, Jake Gyllenhaal appears to be out of the question entirely, having signed on to play the villainous Mysterio in Spider-Man: Homecoming 2. One thing’s for sure, though: Matt Reeves is seemingly gunning for a clean slate when it comes to The Batman, and after the relatively poor receptions to both Batman V Superman and Justice League, can you blame him?